Circuit breaker



A. BALLY CIRCUIT BREAKER June 5, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 15, 1945 Patented June 5, 1951 CIRCUIT BREAKER Alfred Bally, Bassersdorf, Switzerland, assigner to Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon, Zurich-Oerlikon,

Switzerland, a. Swiss firm Application October 15, 1945, Serial No. 622,369

This invention relates to circuit breakers and more especially to power circuit break-ers of low liquid content.

To this end, in accordance with the present invention, in a low liquid content power circuit breaker of the wall-mounting type, two insulating tubes which are disposed in V shape, communicate at the bottom, and are filled with the quenching liquid; of these, the first insulating tube is supported at its upper end on the base of the circuit breaker, while the second insulating tube contains a circuit-breaking chamber and is provided at its two ends with the circuit breaker poles, while, however, the movable contact, in breaking the circuit, moves from top to bottoni andis moved by a mechanism posed in the lower circuit breaker pole by means of insulating rod, which is guided inside the first insulating tube upwards to the actuating device located in Vthe base.

The result of this design is that the mechanism required for opening the movable circuit breaker contact, and also the actuating rod leading to the base are completely unexposed to the iniuence/of weather, and thus the safety in opera-- tion of the circuit breaker is further improved, However, greater circuit-breaking power is also obtained, because the movable contact, on the circuit being broken, is always drawn into fresh oil and the gas bubbles escape in the opposite direction, i. e. upwards. In addition, circuit breakers in accordance with the present invencan easily be converted into change-over switches. Further development of these circuit breakers moreover, permits the employment of additional supporting insulators in circuit breakers of greater power, while these suppcrt ing insulators can contain current transformers which are combined with the insulators. l1' ticular advantages, especially for circuit break which are accommodated in circuit breaker ce1..- are thereby obtained.

in order to enable the invention to be more readily understood reference is made to the companying drawings which illustrate diagram matically and by way of example, Various em bodiments thereof, and in which:

Fig. l shows the fundamental construction oi a circuit breaker according to the present invention, and also the employment of an addie tional insulating tube inserted between the up per switch pole and the base.

Fig. 2 shows a circuit breaker according to Fig. l, in which the lower switch pole is supported against the base by a solid and preferably hori 7 Claims. (Cl. 20D-150) zontally guided supporting insulator. This supporting insulator can be designed as a lead-in bushing.

Fig. 3 shows a top view of three circuit breakers according to Fig. 2 secured side by side on a common base.

e indicates the further development of a circuit breaker according to Fig. 1 or Fig. 2 to form a change-over switch in which the changeover contact is likewise operated by actuatingI mechanisms and rods immersed in oil.

i'ig. 5 shows a circuit breaker according to l. having a vertically disposed supporting in sulatcr, and mounted on a special travelling stand.

S shows a modication of Fig. 5, in which the vertical supporting insulator is designed a lead-in bushing for a lead issuing through the base of thel circuit-breaker source.

Fig. 'l shows a circuit breaker according to Fig, 5, which is combined with a driving stand containing the entire actuating mechanism.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. i, the two insulating tubes 3, iii are disposed in V fashion tube itl has one of its ends secured to a case E. The other insulating tube 3 carries at its two the switch poles sa and 3b provided with the connections. The fixed contact l. is connected to the upper switch pole 3a, and the movable Contact 5 to the lower switch pole 3b. b" way of guide members 'l'. Inside the tube 3 is located the circuit-breaking space i, in which the arc is drawn. The actual circuitbreaking chamber is omitted for the sake of clarity. In thc metallic casing forming the lower switch pole is mounted a double lever, which is moved by the insulating rod 6, adapted to move axially in hollow space of the tube lll, and which is co pled to the contact 5.

r'he 1case of the circuit breaker is preferm ably designed, at least partially, as a reservoir for the arc quenching liquid, the reservoir space communicating directly with the hollow space in the support le. The actuating rod 5, disposed inside the tube lll, is provided with an extension ii which penetrates the reservoir at a point aiove the level of the liquid, so that only simple boxes are required for sealing. The acdevice comprising a lever 9. is mounted e the reservoir. It is occasionally advanto provide still a further insulating tube between the upper switch pole the base This insulating tube 2 connects the reservoir located in the base 8 with the space in the upper pole of the circuit breaker.

The circuit breaker illustrated in section in Fig. 2, consists of the two insulating tubes 3, IS, which are disposed in \1' fashion, intercommunicating at the bottom, and are lled with the quenching liquid, such as oil. The insulating tube lil is provided at its upper end wtih a metal cap 2li and is supported on the base il, which can consist oi a U-girder. The other insulating tube 3 contains the circuit-breaking chamber l5 and is equipped at its two ends with the switch poles I6, l1, the fixed switch contact d being electrically connected with the upper pole ll of the circuit breaker', and the movable switch Contact 5 with the lower pole It. The movable contact 5 is accordingly moved, during the breaking of the circuit, from top to bottom. In the casing of the lower pole it of the circuit breaker is also provided an actuating mechanism consisting of the angle lever i4 and the connecting plate i8. rThis driving mechanism is operated by the insulating rod 5, which leads upwards in the insulating tube is and is pivoted tc the metal rod l2. The metal rod I2 penetrates the cap 2S in a stuffing boar lying above the level of the liquid. The actuating device is secured on the base t and consists of the lever 9 and the connecting plate i9.

The circuit breaker illustrated in Fig. 2 is particularly designed as a circuit breaker of the wall-mounting type, and the base 8 is secured directly to the usually perpendicular wall. The lower pole i6 of the circuit breaker is supported against the wall by means of an additional supporting insulator 2| lying beneath the insulating tube lli. Use is advantageously made ci' the design illustrated, in which the base S oi the circuit breaker is lengthened vertically to such an extent that the supporting insulator 2| rests on its lower portion and the insulating tube lil on its middle portion, while the actuating device 9, I9 is disposed on its upper portion. in contradistinction to a design in which the whole circuit breaker is secured on the wall only by the cap 2@ designed as the base, a mechanically substantially more dependable and also more inexpensive design of circuit breaker is thus obtained. A further advantage, moreover, consists in the iact that the additional supporting insulator 2l can be designed as a lead-in insulator for the lead issuing from the lower pole It of the circuit breaker. The supporting insulator conveniently penetrates the base 3 and the wall lying therebchind, and is supported on the base it by means'of a flange. It is particularly convenient to design the lead-in insulator 2l at the same time as a current transformer', and to secure the secondary terminals of the current transformer, to which the load is connected, on the base 8.

The affare-described circuit breaker is, above all, suitable for the construction of polyphase circuit breaker arrangements, as is indicated in Fig. 3. A plur lity oi single-phase units according to Fig. 2 are disposed side by side with the desired phase distance, the base 8 of the singlephase units being joined together at top and bottom by cross members 22. A continuousv shaft 23 ensures the simultaneous operation of all three circuit breakers.

In order to employ a normal oli-orf circuit breaker as a change-over switch, it would at rst sight appear obvious to provide two separate circuit breakers and to operate or control them in. such a manner that when one of the circuit breakers is opened, the other is automatically closed. This can always be put into practice by suitably coupling the operating mechanisms. The special design of the circuit breakers of the present invention, however, permits also a substantially simpler and cheaper solution, without coupling together two circuit breakers, as has hitherto been customary. On the contrary, a single circuit breaker o1" the type illustrated in Figs. l and 2 is sufficient; a circuit breaker of this type can be converted into a change-over switch by means of an additional part. Not only is the manufacture of a changeover circuit breaker simplified thereby, but a considerable saving in space is also achieved. Such a circuit breaker is illustrated in section in Fig. The two insulating tubes 3, it, which intercommunicate at the bottom, are disposed in a 'v' arrangement and lied with quenching liquid. The insulating tube Iii is provided at its upper end with a metal cap 2G and is supported on the base 3, which can consist of a ii-girder secured to the wall. rJ'Che other insulating tube 3 contains a circuit-breaking chamber' and is provided at its two ends with the switch poles it, il, the xed contact 4 being electrically connected to the upper circuit breaker pole il and the movable contact 5, by way oi" the guides 2l designed as current oitake pieces, to the lower switch pole i5. The` casing forming the lower pole it of the circuit breaker also accommodates an actuating mechanism consisting of the angle lever lli and the connecting plate i8 for driving the movable contact 5. Said actuating mechanism is moved by the insulating rod which leads upwards in the insulating Jubc iii and is pivoted to the metal rod I2. The control rod i2 penetrates the cap 2U in a stuling box lying above the level of the liquid and is moved in its axial direction by the actuating device consisting ci the lever 9 and the coupling plate IS. The actuating device is disposed on the base il.

Fig. 4 illustrates a circuit breaker of the wallmcunting type, in which preferably the lower pole I6 of the circuit breaker is supported against the wall by means of an additional supporting insulator 2l disposed below the insulating tube i9. The supporting insulator 2l can be designed as a lead-in insulator for the lead issuing from the pole I6 of the circuit breaker, penetrating the wall and being supported on the base 8 by means of a flange.

Instead of the cover closing the bottom of the casing l5, a third insulating tube 28 is disposed on the pole of the circuit breaker provided with the mechanism I4, I3, and extends in the opposite direction to the insulating tube 3. Said third insulating tube 28 contains a circuitbreaking chamber 2t, a fixed switch contact 24 electrically connected to the third pole 25, and a movable contact 29 electrically connected to the pole I6. The movable switch contact 29 and the movable contact 5 are jointly moved by the mechanism I4, I8, in such a manner that in the two end positions one of the two pairs of switch contacts is always open and the other closed rlhe two movable switch contacts 29, 5 are moved by the insulating rod 6, so that with simple means a change-over switch is produced which. as can be seen, can be obtained by simply adding the insulating tube 28 having a xed switch contact 24 and the movable switch contact 2S to a normal circuit breaker.

Figs. 5 to '7 show circuit breakers according to the present invention, in which an additional supporting insulator is provided, which is disposed at least approximately in the axial direction of the insulating tube containing the circuitbreaking chamber, and which supports the circuit breaker against the ground. In all these gures the two insulating tubes disposed to form a V with one another are designated by 3 and I0. The second insulating tube- 3 contains at its two ends the poles I6, Il of the circuit breaker. The movable contact is moved from bottom to top in the insulating tube 3 when the circuit is broken. The driving mechanism which drives the movable contact is disposed in the lower pole I6 of the circuit breaker. The driving mechanism is in turn operated by an insulating rod which is guided upwards in the first insulating tube I0. The iirst insulating tube ends at the top in a metal cap 20, through which passes, in the embodiments illustrated in Figs. i and 2, an axially slidable and packed rod I2, which is coupled to the insulating rod for the purpose of operating the driving mechanism. The lower pole I6 of the circuit breaker is supported against the ground by means of the additional supporting insulator 34 in the axial direction of the second insulating tube 3.

In Figs. 5 and 7 the additional supporting insulator 34 is mounted on a traveling stand 32, while in Fig. 6 the additional supporting insulator 35 is designed as a lead-in insulator. All gures have in common the fact that the rst insulating tube IU likewise receives further support at its upper end by means of the metal cap 20. In Fig. 1 and 2 this support is on the wall base 8 provided with the actuating device 9, Hl while in Fig. 7 the support is on the actuating pillar 30. which is mounted together with the circuit breaker on the common ground base 8.

The actuating pillar 3l) can be covered by a casing, .and in addition to the actuating device may rcontain the actual drive, for example a manual drive, electric motor or pneumatic drive, or else a power storage drive. In addition, it is convenient also to accommodate in the pillar the operating relays and their accessories. Particular advantages are afforded by a circuit breaker design according to Fig. 6, in which the circuit breaker is disposed in a circuit breaker cell, and in consequence a lead-in insulator, in the form of a ground lead-in, can also be used as supporting insulator 35. insulator can be designed as a current transformer.

What I wish to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

l.. In an electric circuit breaker cf the chars.

acter described, two insulating tubes having their lower ends connected adjacent each other to a metallic casing to form with the latter a V- :shaped container filled with an arc-quenching liquid, one of said insulating tubes being arranged vertically and forming a switch cha J..- ber for a xed contact and a movable contact adapted to engage and disengage said fixed contact, both said contacts being continuously immersed in said liquid, a base adapted to be attached to a wall and having attached thereto the upper end oi the other insulatingtube which is arranged at an acute angle with respect to the vertically positioned tube, a switch pole closin the upper endof the vertical insulating tube and. carrying said xed contact wl ch extends downwardly into said tube, said .moiy ble contact being conductively connected with said metailic casing and extending upwardly into said tube, lever means pivotally mounted in said casing and At the same time the lead-in n r ue) operatively connected with said movable Contact in a manner causing an axial movement of the same within its insulating tube upon pivotal movement o said lever means, switch operating means mounted on said base adjacent the upper end thereof, and means including an axially movable insulating rod extending axially through the tube attached with its upper end to said base above the surface of said liquid and operatively connecting said switch operating means with said lever means in said casing for actuating said movable contact.

2. In an electric circuit breaker of the character described, two insulating tubes having their lower ends connected adjacent each other to a metallic casing to form with the latter a V- shaped container lled with an arc-quenching liquid, a base adapted to be attached to a wall. means for closing the upper end of one ci said insulating tubes and for attaching it to said base, a switch pole closing the upper end of the other insulating tube, a fixed contact carried by said switch pole and extending into said tube, an axially movable contact rod conductively connected with said metallic casing extending from the latter upwardly into said last mentioned tube, both said contacts being continuously immersed in said liquid, lever means pivotally mounted in said casing and operatively connected with said contact rod in a manner to more the same in its axial direction selectively into and out of engagement with said xed contact upon pivotal movement of said lever means switch operating means mounted on said base, and means including an Vaxially movable insulating rod extending axially into the upper end oi' and through the tube attached with its upper end to said base and operatively connecting said switch operating means with said lever means in s said casing for actuating said movable contact rod, the exit of said operating means being above the surface of the liquid.

3. In an electric circuit breaker as claimed in claim 2, a third insulating tube attached to the bottom of said metallic casing in axial alinement with said vertically positioned tube and in open communication with the interior of said casing, and a second xed contact in said third insulating tube, all said contacts being continuously immersed in said liquid, said movable contact rod being adapted to be moved selectively into engagement with either one of said two xed contacts.

4. In an electric circuit breaker of the character described, two insulating tubes having their lower ends connected adjacent each other to a metallic casing to form with the latter a V- shaped container filled with an arc-quenching liquid, one of said insulating tubes being arranged vertically and forming a switch chamber for a xed contact and a movable contact adapted to engage and disengage said xed contact, both said contacts being continuously immersed in said liquid, a base adapted to be attached to a wall and having attached thereto the upper end of the other insulating tube which is arranged at an acute angle with respect to the vertically positioned tube, a supporting insulator connecting the metallic casing with said base, aV

in said casing and operatively connected with said movable contact in a manner causing an axial movement of the same within its insulating tube upon pivotal movement of said lever means, switch operating means mounted on the upper end of said base, and means including an axially movable insulating rod extending axially through the tube attached with its upper end to said base and operatively connecting said switch operating means with said lever means in said casing for actuating said movable contact, the exit of said operating means being above the surface of said liquid.

5, In an electric circuit breaker of the character described, two insulating tubes having their lower ends connected adjacent each other to a metallic casing to form with the latter a V- shaped container lled with an arc-quenching liquid, one of said insulating tubes being arranged vertically and forming a switch chamber for a xed contact and a movable contact adapted to engage and disengage said iixed contact, both said contacts being continuously immersed in said liquid, a base adapted to be attached to a wall and having attached thereto the upper end of the other insulating tube which is arranged at an acute angle with respect to the vertically positioned tube, an insulator attached to the bot- .tom of the metallic casing in substantial axial alinement With said vertically arranged insulating tube and adapted to support the circuit breaker from the oor, a switch pole closing the upper end of the vertical insulating tube and carrying said fixed contact which extends downwardly into said tube, said movable contact being conductively connected with said metallic casing and extending upwardly into said tube, lever means pivotally mounted in said casing and operatively connected with said movable contact in a manner causing an axial movement of the same within its insulating tube upon pivotal movement of said lever means, switch operating means mounted on the upper end of said base, and means including an axially movable insulating rod extending axially through the tube attached with its upper end to said base and operatively connecting said switch operating means with said lever means in said casing for actuating said movable contact, the exit of said operating means being above the surface of said liquid.

6. In an electric circuit breaker of the character described, two insulating tubes having their lower ends connected adjacent each other to a metallic casing to form with the latter a V- shaped container filled with an arc-quenching liquid, one of said insulating tubes being arranged vertically and forming a switch chamber for a xed contact and a movable contact adapted to engage and disengage said fixed contact, both said contacts being continuously immersed in said liquid, a base adapted to be attached to a wall and having attached thereto the upper end of the other insulating tube which is arranged at an acute angle with respect to the vertically positioned tube, an insulator mounted on a travelling stand attached to said metallic casing substantially in axial alinement with said vertically arranged insulating tube for supporting the circuit breaker from the floor, a switch pole closing the upper end of the vertical insulating tube and carrying said xed contact which extends downwardly into said tube, said movable contact being conductively connected with said metallic casing and extending upwardly into said tube, lever means pivotally mounted in said casing and operatively connected with said movable contact in a manner causing an axial movement of the same within its insulating tube upon pivotal movement of said lever means, switch operating means mounted on the upper end of said base, and means including an axially movable insulating rod extending axially through the tube attached with its upper end to said base, said insulating rod operatively connecting said switch operating means with said lever means in said casing for actuating said movable contact, the exit of said operating means being above the surface of said liquid.

7. In an electric circuit breaker of the character described, two insulating tubes having their lower ends connected adjacent each other to a metallic casing to form with the latter a V-shapcd container iilled with an arc-quenching liquid, one of said insulating tubes being arranged vertically and forming a switch chamber for a xed contact and a movable contact adapted to engage and. disengage said fixed contact, both said contacts being continuously immersed in said liquid, a base adapted to be attached to a wall and having attached thereto the upper end of the other insulating tube which is arranged at an acute angle with respect to the vertically positioned tube, an insulator attached to the bottom of the metallic casing in substantial axial alinement with said vertically arranged insulating tube and adapted to support the circuit breaker from the iioor, said insulator forming a bushing for a lead-in conductor which is connected to said metallic casing, a switch pole closing the upper end of the vertical insulating tube and carrying said lxed contact which extends downwardly into said tube, said movable contact being conductively connected with said metallic casing and extending upwardly into said tube, lever means pivotally mounted in said casing and operatively connected with said movable contact in a manner causing an axial movement of the same within its insulating tube upon pivotal movement of said lever means, switch operating means mounted on the upper end of said base, and means including an axially movable insulating rod extending axially through the tube attached with its upper end to said base and operatively connecting said switch operating means with said lever means in said casing for actuating said movable Contact, the exit of said operating means being above the surface of said liquid.

ALFRED BALLY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re.2l,848 Balachowsky July 1, 1941 2,203,863 Farrell June 11, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 625,177 Germany Feb. 5, 1936 

